By the time I got back into boardgames, I had missed the original Libertalia. Many of my gaming buddies have spoken highly of the original. So when Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest was released I was excited to give it a try. My understanding is that the game mechanics are largely intact from the original. This can be both a good and bad thing. Sometimes, out of print games that get a revival fuel nostalgia but keep dated mechanics that also inherit some fatal flaws from the original. Given my experience with the original are limited, this review will be coving how Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest stands on its own.

*Stonemaier Games was kind enough to provide a copy of Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest Overview

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is a game for 1-6 players designed by Paolo Mori and published by Stonemaier Games. Set sail on the high skies as you control a group of 40 pirates to out plan, out plunder, and out maneuver your opponents to become the richest sky pirate of them all!

A game of Libertalia plays out over 3 voyages with a voyage being 4, 5, then 6 days long. Each day consists if a Day, Dusk, and Night phase that has players simultaneously playing cards and activate them in order from a queue on the board. Once the third voyage is complete players add up all their doubloons and the richest pirate is declared the winner.

Setup

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest has a fairly simple set up. First choose a side of the board to play on. There is a more passive side and a more aggressive side with more devious abilities. Each player grabs a deck of 40 pirate cards along with a graveyard plaque. The players reputation tokens are randomly placed on the reputation track and all tokens are used no matter the player count.

To set up for a voyage, one player will randomly draw 6 cards from their deck. Once these cards are drawn all the other players will take the same 6 cards from their decks. All players should start the first voyage with the same 6 cards. Treasure tokens are then draw according to the number of players and placed on each day space for the current voyage. Doubloons are then awarded according the the player’s place on the reputation track and you are ready to play.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Libertalia is simple too. At the beginning of a day players will simultaneously play one card from their hand face down in front of them. All cards are then revealed and and placed in numerical order on the game board (reputation status will break ties). Players then begin the day phase and the cards day abilities are activated left to right. Once all day abilities are activated it is time to move to dusk. Moving from right to left players get to take a treasure of their choice from the current day and activated a dusk ability if they have one. Dusk abilities can be from treasures or cards. Then the player takes the card they have played and places it on their island in front of them.

After all players have progressed through dusk then comes the night phase. Players will activate all cards that have night phase abilities in front of them on their island. Once the night phase is complete the next day begins and players all play a single card again. At the end of all the days for the current voyage, players then play their anchor abilities on any cards in their island or treasures and total up their doubloons, adjusting their treasure chest counter. All cards are then swept into the players graveyard, doubloons and treasures are retuned to their supply, another 6 cards are dealt out, and the next voyage is set up. At the end of 3 voyages the player with the most doubloons is the winner.

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest Impressions

Components

As with all Stonemaier Games, you can expect above average components here. Pirate treasure tokens are thick and chunky plastic. Very similar if not the same to what you would find in the game Azul. Card quality is good and the artwork is light and family friendly. The doubloons and treasure tiles are standard cardboard and the counters need to be assembled. Stonemaier does offer metal coins that might be worth a purchase if this continues to get play time. The board is good quality and double sided again with great artwork. The insert is good, felt like there should have been a bay for the automa deck but this is not a big deal. I really appreciate some of the bags being biodegradable and I actually think it is the first time I have seen that in game packaging. All in all, on par with Stonemaier quality.

Accessibility and Theme

This is a game on the lighter side of Stonemaier Games catalogue. Our family had no trouble picking this up after playing through a couple of days. Rules were well written and iconography throughout is simple to understand. This is totally a game I can get to the table with an inexperienced or casual gaming crowd. I like the pirate theme and for the most part it is done well. The character abilities on the cards play to the characters traits nicely. Robber cards will have you stealing treasures from other players. After you take advantage of the stow away’s ability you will be kicking him off your boat to the grave yard. All of the 40 character cards each have their own unique abilities for lots of game play variety!

Kids can play this one too! As long as the child can read and you are willing to coach a bit they should be good. I would say 10 years old would be the lowest I would go.

Gameplay

This game is pretty fun. I really like how all players are essentially getting the the same cards over the course of the game. It is up to the player to decide when to play cards to maximize their advantage. While the playing card mechanics are fairly simple, the choice of which card to play has some depth. The order of the how the cards is played is smart and players will often have to make that trade off of being able to be an earlier day card played or being the first to grab a treasure. Some cards will let you manipulate the queue a bit so if you plan right you may be able to get the best of both worlds. Powerful cards can be held in your had over voyages.

Each voyage itself almost plays like a mini engine builder and set collection game. As you build up your pirate cast on the island over the course of several days, the night abilities have a compounding effect. The treasures are the set collection part and are scored mostly from other cards and treasures they are paired with. During our plays of the game, we did have a bit of AP but nothing so bad that it detracted from the game. The card abilities are not overly complex and we were quickly able to grasp these abilities to start jockeying for reputation, manipulating card order in the queue, stealing the next day’s treasure, and so on.

Simultaneous play certainly helps to keep the game moving along. Even our early games all played under the advertised time of an hour. Playtime, complexity, and accessibility all put this firmly in the family category for us.

Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest Final Verdict

A fun family weight game, Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is a quick play that does not over stay its welcome. We will often play 2 games back to back because of what you get for your time. There is enough depth and variability to keep a wide range of gamers engaged. The fact that you all get the same cards will play to the more strategy heavy crowd but the luck of the draw on the treasures and the easy ruleset is enough to keep the casual crowd coming back. This is definitely one that will be staying in our collection.